


Courtship Rituals

by Zedrobber



Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Also hi this is my first Class fic, Dating, Fluff, M/M, Super cute dating fic ahoy, literally nothing traumatic at all, unless you're Quill in which case you have to hear this sappy rubbish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 07:45:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zedrobber/pseuds/Zedrobber
Summary: Charlie has done his research & wants to try this whole "dating" thing. Matteusz decides to surprise him in return. Quill is not impressed.Literally just a tiny ficlet written for my wife shadow-in-the-shade to give her more fluff in her life!





	Courtship Rituals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shadow_in_the_shade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadow_in_the_shade/gifts).



“Are you- asking me out on a date? Charlie, we are dating. We have been for- some time now.”

“I - I suppose I am, yes. I googled traditional human courtship rituals and-”

“Human courtship rituals?” Matteusz could not help the fondly amused smile that threatened at the edges of his mouth.

“Don’t laugh at me, please.” There was an edge to Charlie’s voice, a rising blush creeping up his neck.

“Oh, Charlie.” Matteusz reached out to stroke his thumb over Charlie’s cheek. “I am not laughing at you. You are just...adorable.”

Charlie thrust out a bunch of flowers he had hidden behind his back, unable to make eye contact. “I bought you these. But I didn’t know what colours you liked...or what kind of flowers. There was so much  _ choice _ , I didn’t realise how many different kinds of occasions humans buy flowers for and I panicked and just bought the ones I thought you might like, so if you don’t like them or I’ve done it wrong and men don’t like getting flowers then I’m sorry-”

“Charlie! Please,” Matteusz said, almost laughing. He took the flowers carefully, a bright, brash mess of sunflowers and orange lilies and others that he didn’t recognise in a burst of golden colours. “They are beautiful.” He couldn’t stop the smile this time, wide and sunny and easy. “I have never been given flowers before.”

“Is it- not right?”

“I do not know,” Matteusz shrugged, smelling the bouquet. “But I like it. Thank you.” A shadow of distress crossed his face. “I should have got you something.”

“I’m the one asking you on a date, I’m supposed to give you the gift.”

“I will do it next time.”

“If you like,” Charlie said, beaming in pleased embarrassment. “Oh! I forgot. I read online that there are several traditional options for a date location and that it is acceptable to surprise your potential partner. Is that...true? I’m really hoping it’s true.”

“It is, I believe.” Matteusz was clutching the flowers to his chest tightly. “I have not...much experience with it.”

“Ah. Okay. Well. I made a picnic. I bought a picnic, really. I thought we could go to the park and eat it.”

“That sounds wonderful, Charlie, but-”

“Oh. You don’t like picnics? I should have asked-”

Matteusz smiled gently and pointed at the window behind Charlie. “It is raining.”

There was a long silence as Charlie digested the information.

“I like picnics,” Matteusz volunteered after a pause.

 

“Oh, I don’t care!” hollered Quill from the next room. “We all like  _ bloody _ picnics!”

 

Charlie huffed out a half annoyed, half amused breath before looking at Matteusz. “We can do something else? I have a list-”

“A picnic is perfect.”

“But the rain…”

“We can have the picnic inside. In our- your- room.”

“It’s our room,” Charlie reassured him, touching his arm gently. “As long as you want it to be.”

 

“I’m so glad I get a say in this,” Quill sighed. “I’m going out. For several hours. Please confine your sexual activity to that time for once.” She swept past them, the door slamming behind her.

 

Matteusz thought for a moment, frowning, and then brightened. “Charlie, will you wait here? I have an idea. It can be my gift to you.”

“Of course,” Charlie said, looking puzzled but smiling faintly. He could never help smiling back when Matteusz smiled at him. It was like the sunshine coming out after a storm, every single time. It made him forget that there was anything strange about their lives at all. It was why he had chosen sunflowers- they reminded him of that sunshine smile.

“Good,” Matteusz said, kissing him softly. “I am leaving the flowers here. Please do not think it is because I do not like them. I will be back soon.”

“Okay.” 

Matteusz ducked out into the rain, pulling his hood up and leaving Charlie to wait.

 

“Not yet,” Matteusz said when he came back, soaked through and grinning and holding a carrier bag. “One moment.” He shed his coat and disappeared off into the bedroom.

  
  


\--

 

“You can come upstairs now,” he said, breathless. “Bring the picnic.” Picking up his flowers like a treasured possession, Matteusz went upstairs again, humming tunelessly to himself.

“Surprise.”

 

Matteusz had transformed the bedroom, making a tent on the floor out of the bedsheets and a jumble of pillows and cushions, propped up with chairs and the desk and strung with tiny battery powered fairy lights, glowing gold like stars and making the whole makeshift tent almost translucent in their light, constellations on a purple-blue nightscape. There were blankets on the floor, inviting and soft, and a small electric hurricane lantern in the midst of it all.

 

Charlie had never realised you could smile so hard that it would ache, a feeling echoed in his chest with a warm, sweet tenderness that he couldn’t begin to understand. He could feel tears threatening to fall, pricking at the corners of his eyes, and he had no idea why. Could you cry when you were happy? Is that was it was? He held the picnic basket to his chest and stood uncertainly in the doorway, trembling and overwhelmed by the beauty of the gesture and the love behind it. 

 

“Do you like it?” Matteusz asked, and there was a catch in his voice that made Charlie realise suddenly that he didn’t  _ know _ , was guessing at what Charlie would like as much as he had himself with the flowers. “I did not have much money, but-”

“I do,” he said, finding himself unable to speak without swallowing thickly. “It’s - it’s beautiful, it really is, Matteusz. I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“I love you,” he answered simply, smiling that ridiculous, relieved smile that made Charlie’s heart ache even more. “We should eat. I hear we have a limited amount of time for sexual activity before Miss Quill returns. I would hate to waste it.”

“Yes. But please do not say ‘sexual activity’ in the same sentence as ‘Miss Quill’ again.”

“Agreed.”

\---

  
  
  



End file.
